


Suffocating Us All (Like a Blanket)

by Eliza12727



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Age Difference, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Attempt at Humor, M/M, Slow Burn, Teacher-Student Relationship, We'll Get There I Promise, adding tags as we go, there will be p0rn eventually i swear
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-27
Updated: 2020-05-27
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:01:17
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,932
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24401725
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eliza12727/pseuds/Eliza12727
Summary: For the life of him, Tony Stark can’t understand why Peter Parker, student at Columbia University, is pre-med when he should obviously be learning real science (in the engineering department, of course). But Peter has a problem and a complex – a complex problem, if you will – and Tony Stark is going to figure it out. Probably. He’s 99% sure he can. Maybe 95%.The one where Tony Stark is teaching at Columbia, Peter has a devastating secret, and somehow stuff happens along the way.
Relationships: Peter Parker/Tony Stark
Comments: 12
Kudos: 47





	Suffocating Us All (Like a Blanket)

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, welcome to my first fic on this site! This is definitely a wip but I hope you guys will stick around to see more in the future! I haven't written creatively in a long time, so please leave comments to tell me whether you liked it or not! Constructive criticism is really appreciated here. The quality of writing will improve for it, I swear. Also, I'm looking for a beta so message me if interested!
> 
> For clarification, Peter is 18 years old here and there are no powers.

When Tony woke up that morning, he considered not showing up for work at all.

It was early morning (re: before 8 am – a revolting time to be alive) and he may or may not be slightly hungover. Wasn't sure if the headache was the hangover or just a consequence of being awake at the ass crack of dawn.

Scrubbing a hand over his face, Tony turned onto his side to snag his phone off the charging station on the bedside table. He scrolls through the news, skipping over the usual headlines.

 _Tony Stark's New Sex Tape! Pepper Potts and Tony Stark – Are They Really Over? Who Is Tony Stark’s New Male Lover?_ Nothing of vital importance stands out to him. Stocks are still far, far below what they should be.

His phone rings. Tony starts and answers before his brain can even register the caller ID.

 _“Tony?”_ It’s Pepper.

“Good morning to you too, honey,” Tony rasps, his voice scratchy from sleep and scotch.

_“Very funny. You better be stuck in traffic, or so help me – “_

“Relax, relax,” Tony grunts as he heaves his body off his California King sized bed. Whew. A workout in itself, really. “I’m on my way to the car right now.” He’s lying.

_“You’re lying.”_

“Well, I _will_ be on my way to the car if you call me back in fifteen minutes.” Tony pauses to stretch and twist his back. It pops so loudly he wonders if Pepper could hear it through the phone.

 _“Tony…“_ He can’t see it, but Tony imagines that she’s biting her lip.

“Pep, seriously, I won’t be late. You know me. I promised I would do this.” He strides over to the bathroom, runs the shower. Kicks off the sweatpants he slept in.

_“Don’t you dare show up a single minute late. And I’ll know when you leave the penthouse, Tony.”_

He sighs. “Sheila duty?”

 _“Sheila duty.”_ Pepper confirms. _“I have a meeting, so let me know how it goes after, okay?”_

“Really? You’re not even gonna wish me luck on my very first day of school?”

 _“… Good luck on your first day of school, Tony.”_ She hangs up the call. He huffs to himself and hops in the shower.

Tony speeds through the shower (but he’s totally clean, don’t worry), grabs an apple (for show, not for eating), and slings the strap of his briefcase over his shoulder as he takes the elevator down to the lobby. The doors open and he walks briskly past reception.

“Morning, Sheila!” he grins purposefully at the middle-aged-but-definitely-on-the-older-side, severe-faced brunette sitting behind the desk.

Her “Good morning, Mr. Stark” is curt and delivered with what could be considered an eye roll or possibly allergies. He suspects it’s the former but figures the evidence won’t hold up in court.

Tony shoos his chauffeur away from his Audi and hops into the driver’s seat himself. Speeds off into the distance where education awaits, or something like that.

*

When Peter wakes up that morning, he considers skipping his first class of the day. It’s an 8 am on a Monday (yeesh) and he was up late last night on the phone with Ned and MJ, who are attending Stanford and Bernard, respectively. He slaps a hand to the corner of his bed, where his phone is charging next to the pillow because there’s no bedside table in a dorm.

He scrolls through social media as he wakes up slowly. There are also some messages in the group chat with Ned and MJ, and they’re along the lines of:

_if you don’t even get a pic of ts what was the point of taking the class?_

_the point is to learn things, mj_

_^^^_

_but you should tell him that you would do ~anything~ for an A_

_ew ur nasty_

_stfu_

His Twitter feed is full of the crazy news headlines that have been circulating for the past month: _Tony Stark Signs Deal with Columbia University! What We Expect to Learn in a Class Taught By Tony Stark_ and even _Tony Stark’s Latest Sex Tape!_ A quick glance across the room tells him that his roommate, Li Ping, is already gone, but Peter puts his phone down with a flush and jumps out of his lofted bed. He lands deftly on his feet and begins scrounging for relevant textbooks and his laptop to stuff into a well-worn gray backpack.

The phone rings with a call this time. Peter glances at it, flips it over to see who it is. It’s a number not saved to his contacts. He lets it go to voicemail and grabs his shower caddy, heading to the communal bathroom down the hall.

*

Peter gets to class with fifteen minutes to spare, but he wasn’t the only one to do so. The lecture hall is packed with students already so there aren’t not too many spaces left in the auditorium. Even some faculty members are hidden in the audience, eagerly waiting. A row in the very back is still mostly empty, but Peter lingers near the front anyways, desperately hoping to find a spot closer up.

He’s practically quaking with excitement. In just a few minutes, he’s going to see Tony Stark _in person_. Maybe Tony will ask the class a question, and Peter will be the only one to get it right. Or he’ll have office hours, and Peter can come and ask _him_ questions and maybe Tony will–

“You seem nervous.” The accent sounded vaguely middle eastern, though Peter couldn’t quite place it. The professor was balding, wearing glasses and a simple tan suit jacket. He had been sitting in the seat right under his nose this whole time and Peter hadn’t noticed.

“I-I am a little, I guess.” Peter laughs nervously. The man chuckles and stands. Peter’s eyes zero in on the suddenly empty seat. It’s perfect: front row and directly in front of the podium where Tony Stark will presumably be lecturing from.

As if reading his thoughts, the professor says, “You may have my seat, if you like.” He rises with a kind smile and gestures toward the chair.

“Really? Thank you, sir!” Peter can’t believe his luck. He sits down quickly before anyone could dispute it. He knows for a fact that the blond girl sitting behind him is glaring daggers, but Peter could be bleeding to death and he still wouldn’t give up this seat for anything.

He bounces his legs, jittery with excitement as he pulls out a pen and notebook, ready to take notes. Most other students have their nice, expensive laptops in front of them, but Peter doesn’t even own a MacBook. His PC is ancient and clunky, sitting in his equally ancient backpack like a dead weight. He wouldn’t dare sit in front Tony Stark with that piece of trash; it would be way too embarrassing.

Peter tugs at his sweatshirt collar. The room is loud and warm. The seats are set close together and the amount of people crammed into the lecture hall is reaching fire hazard levels of crowded.

The side entrance opens, and the chattering suddenly hushes. Tony Stark walks in looking like a million dollars. He’s wearing an expensive-looking suit; shiny grey, with a crisp white button-up underneath. No tie. He has on red tinted glasses and carries an equally pricy-looking leather briefcase that he swings around to leave on top of the podium. Peter straightens in his chair.

The professor who gave up his seat to Peter strides over, and Tony Stark smiles widely, displaying shiny white teeth. They greet each other like old friends.

“You’re late,” the professor scolds with no real malice.

“Nope. I have–“ Tony glances at his watch. “–exactly two minutes to spare. Everyone else is early. You wanted to talk shop, Yinsen?” He takes a bite out of a red apple with a satisfying crunch. Peter wishes _he_ was that apple.

“Perhaps we can discuss logistics later. At a more, ah, convenient time, I might add. For now, we shouldn’t keep your students waiting. I wish you the best of luck, Tony.” With a final pat on the back, Yinsen departs. Tony doesn’t turn around for a moment, and Peter starts counting down the seconds: _one, two, three–_

Tony turns. “Well, look at you!”

For a split second, Peter thinks Tony Stark is talking directly to him and the whole world explodes like a nuclear bomb detonating, but Tony goes on and it becomes clear that he’s addressing the class as a whole: “All bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. When I was your guys’ ages, I was too hungover for 8 am classes.” The class laughs. “Still am.” The class laughs even more. Much to Peter’s relief (or disappointment, he’s not sure) Tony hadn’t noticed his reaction.

“Right.” Tony takes off his glasses with one hand, leaning casually on the podium. “Welcome to The Art of Mechanics and Relativity, taught by yours truly. God, what a pretentious title.” He claps once. “First things first – syllabus! Anybody have it on them? Even I haven’t read it yet.”

Peter almost – _almost_ – dives into his backpack to grab it but stops abruptly. The first time Peter talks to Tony Stark, it will _not_ be to discuss the syllabus, he scolds himself. An eager young redhead three seats to Peter’s left thrusts her hand into the air like she had been waiting her entire life for this moment. 

“Thank you very much,” Tony winks at the girl, who flushes to a shade that matches her hair. He flips through the pages quickly, mumbling what sounds suspiciously like “blah, blah, blah” and drops it back on her desk. 

“So. You guys know the drill. Don’t cheat, study hard, and my office hours are listed at the bottom. Don’t call me, because I won’t answer it. Emails are fine. We have three exams, one paper. There _might_ be extra credit. Depends on how generous I’m feeling in four months. Let’s talk about the important stuff: physics.”

And Peter sits through what might have been the best lecture of his entire life. He doesn’t even know how he’s going to get through four more years of college, because nothing else could _ever_ top this class.

Tony teaches at an even pace just right for Peter; not too slow, not too fast. He’s _actually_ teaching, too, not just regurgitating facts from their textbook. He gesticulates widely and writes equations on the board, performing complicated math in his head without so much as a second thought. Seventy minutes passes by entirely too quickly. Suddenly, Tony is double-checking his Rolex and people are not-so-quietly packing up.

“Okay people, I’ll see you all Wednesday!” Immediately a crowd of people form a half-circle around Tony, much to Peter’s chagrin. He’d been hoping to get a chance to introduce himself, but the entire class (and faculty) are already waiting in line.

Peter puts his things away reluctantly, all while trying to keep an eye on Tony. He’s taking in as much as he can: everything from his Italian loafers to the crow’s feet hugging his soft brown eyes. He hovers a moment, just standing by the seat so generously given to him by that Professor Yinsen. Finally, Peter leaves and heads to his next class.

*

“I hate kids.” Is the first thing out of Tony’s mouth when the class is over. He’s sitting in Yinsen’s office.

“I’m sure they were not that bad,” Yinsen says reproachfully as he types through an email of some sort. He stops to peer at him over the monitor screen. “And they’re hardly children; these students are young adults, and now they need someone to shape their agile minds. You are going to change their lives, Tony, if you haven’t already.”

“Yeah well, I’m sort of used to being the bad influence around college campuses, you know? Parties left and right, playing hooky and all that jazz. It’s weird to be the _responsible_ one.” He mock shudders.

“You do have an image to correct,” Yinsen reminds him gently. “I’m no Pepper Potts, but even I can tell that the public has grown tired of your careless ways. If word gets out you couldn’t even be bothered to actually teach your students, they’ll see through this like the publicity stunt it is.”

“Pfft. Publicity stunt. That’s what we’re calling it?”

“That’s what Stark Industries is calling it.”

Tony groans, heading lolling back. “They’re not even asking good questions! Half of them just want to know who I slept with in that video. The other half just want to be in the _next_ video with me.”

“It must be flattering, I’m sure.” Yinsen says jokingly.

“It’s _exhausting_ is what it is! A school full of the world’s best and smartest and not a single person had a relevant question about the actual course. Actually, scratch that – somebody asked if they could have cheat sheets on the exam.”

“Can they?”

“Can they what?”

“Can they have cheat sheets on the exam?”

Tony throws his hands in the air, “Why not! Who cares?”

Yinsen frowns, steepling his hands under his chin like a wise and powerful wizard. “I care, Tony. And you should too. I made some exceptions so that you could teach here this fall, but you must submit a relevant course plan for the semester.”

“You’re giving me homework, buddy?” He feigns a wounded look.

“Just a general outline of what you’re going to be teaching. It must be approved by the department head – me, of course – otherwise the university board will not keep you on staff. At least, not without another sizable donation, but that should be out of the question for you.”

It was. Tossing more money at the school wouldn’t be the smartest PR move. Tony had personally donated three million dollars to support Columbia’s engineering department, and Stark Industries had dumped another five million in the name of “renovating the future”. They’re thinking of naming the new library after him.

He waves his hand flippantly. “Fine, fine. I’ll come up with a little something for you.”

“Don’t make the material too difficult, either.” He adds. “Not everyone is a genius like you, and I don’t want a hundred students in my office crying because Tony Stark failed them.”

“If anyone comes to my office crying, I’m going to fail them on principle.”

*

_send a pic of the syllabus_

_why_

_so I can see what tony stark has planned ofc_

_I don’t think he actually wrote anything_

_then wat was even on it_

_just the standard university policy bs_

_nothing special_

_class is three tests one essay_

_do you think you can ask for his autograph_

_make him sign the syllabus lmaoo_

Peter huffs a laugh at Ned’s texts and puts his phone down. He’s lying in bed after an exhausting day. After his 8 am, he’d had American History (with a special emphasis on World War II), and Biology plus lab. Tomorrow he has four new classes to attend. His schedule is filled to the maximum amount of credits and it’s entirely his fault, but he’s not exactly regretting it, either.

Ned and MJ tried to convince him not to, but as soon as he heard Tony Stark was teaching an undergraduate class at his school (not just guest lecturing, like, actually having a semester long course!) he knew he _had_ to take it. He stayed up until midnight for open enrollment, hoping to get in.

The class was capped at one hundred students, with fifty seats reserved especially for students in the engineering department, which Peter is not a part of. Everyone else had an equal chance of getting in regardless of major or year. Peter had been thrilled. He’s a biology major with a pre-med track. As much as he was willing to be an engineering student, that option was out of his control.

His roommate, Li Ping, who is sitting at the desk adjacent to Peter, laughs at something he’s watching on Netflix and chokes a little on his ramen noodles. Peter debates whether he should go to bed early or start his homework. His nerd side wins, and he pulls out Tony’s syllabus.

It’s pretty empty, as far as syllabuses go. There’s no textbook, no assignment calendar. The vast majority is made up of Columbia’s policies on academic integrity and all that, but Tony’s email and phone are listed, as well as the location and time for his office hours. With an excited jolt, Peter realizes that the building is located not too far from his dorm. He’ll be walking by it almost every day to and from classes. Speaking of, Peter won’t see Tony until Wednesday at the soonest, but the thought of running into him on campus sends a thrill through him.

Drowsiness seems to weigh on Peter suddenly, and instead of studying he decides to get ready for bed. He does his nighttime routine, wishes Li Ping a good night, and climbs onto bed. With his earphones in, Peter gets comfortable watching a YouTube video on his phone while occasionally fielding Ned and MJ’s questions about the first day of Tony Stark’s class.

Just as Peter is about to go to sleep, he opens the phone app, lying on his back in bed. His thumb hovers over the voicemail notification in hesitation. He grits his teeth.

_“Hello Mr. Parker, this is Sylvia from Advanced Idea Medicinal Rehabilitation Center. I’m calling to ask once again about billing for the most recent outpatient stay…”_

Peter lets his phone drop to his chest. Suddenly he feels wide awake.

**Author's Note:**

> Please lmk what you guys think! Leave a comment below (they encourage me to update sooner!) ty guys


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